The Child of the Water Kingdom
by percabethtotartarusandback
Summary: Percy is just your average guy in a huge kingdom helping his mother but he cant find his true calling.He tries not to cause his mom any troubles and goes to the extent of joining the army. Would he be able to find his identity and fulfill his duties while keeping his mom safe and happy-even though she is hiding a secret from him- and possibly find love along the way? Percabeth AU.
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys! This is my first fanfic and i hope you enjoy it. Its a Percabeth AU story where Annabeth will be the princess and Percy soldier/prince. Wont reveal much but I'll try to post at least once a week and even more if i get more reviews :3 So enjoy this chapter till then!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO and its characters.**

 **Prologue**

Sally ran with all her might. Away from the noise- the shouting, screaming, weapons blasting away at a distance, away from the horses with soldiers mounted upon them carrying lord knows what weapons into the thick jungle. She was thankful for the clouded sky- covering the moon and stars just enough to help her navigate her way through the jungle but not enough to help the soldiers find her. She narrowly missed a tree, almost losing her balance and dropping the bundle she was carrying but thankfully, she didn't. She knew that for the time being she was safe thanks to the almost non existent light but didn't want to risk it for she knew the soldiers chasing her were of a different kind. They were Razaraas- skilled assassins, killers and tracking paramilitary forces of King Kronos whose dangers knew no bounds. Sally knew that they would be able to track her in this dim lighting just by a whiff of her scent and to get rid of it she had to cross a river. She knew in a jungle there was bound to be a river somewhere nearby so she stopped and stood still trying to block away the sounds of pain, anguish and horse hooves hitting the ground and just listened, listened to a sound that she was oh-so-familiar with, to a sound of water hitting something solid, to the waves and droplets of water bringing back memories of a happy couple by the bea-

' _Focus, Sally!'_ she scolded herself, pushing away all the memories and just focusing on the sounds around her until she heard it. It was faint but she was sure it was the sound of the river somehwere towards her right. She angled her body towards the sound and ran towards it.

If a stranger saw her, they would wonder what a young woman was doing in the jungle running in a silk gown with fine jewellery and a crown over her head. The thing was she wasn't an ordinary person but a Queen and she was running away from the assassins who wanted to kill her and take the bundle she was carrying but she would never allow that- while her husband, King Poseidon was still in the castle defending his kingdom from Kronos' forces and she didn't know if he was alive or dead. As much as she wanted to go back towards her kingdom and save her husband, she knew she couldn't mainly because she was giving standing instructions to run with the bundle she was carrying as far as she could and not to look or return back even if she heard any kind of news, good or bad as they didn't want to risk her life and her possessions safety.

As the sound of the river grew louder, Sally finally broke into a clearing and saw the magnificent water body in front of her, roaring away and the current strong. She could hear the hooves getting louder and louder confirming her fear- _they must've caught her scent._

'Aye, we finally gonna catch za bitch, eh?' one of them yelled. 'Oh, cant wait tah geth a piece of err' yelled another.

Fearing for her life and safety, she had no other choice but to swim across the river. Even though she knew the current would pull her down and her chances of survival were really slim, Sally prayed to each and every god she knew and stepped into the river.

Feeling the current hitting her knee, she was almost pulled down but regained her balance and continued to swim-walk with the current working against her and trying to throw her off. When she was waist deep, she lost her footing on one of the rocks and was claimed into the water. With her head bobbing up and down as she tried to grasp some air into her lungs and keeping the small bundle above the water, Sally felt this was her end but her hand caught on something. It was a log piece! Thanking the gods who sent her this blessing, she climbed on the wood and -by a miracle- with the combination of the current and her weight, the log was pushed enough sideways to land her on the bank of the other side of the river. As she climbed out of the river, laid down on the soft grass to catch her breath, Sally prayed to the gods once again, thanking them for saving her life but her prayer was cut short when the sound of the hooves were extremely loud and extremely close. Scrambling up and running as fast as her heavy, wet clothes would allow, Sally had just enough time to hide behind a tree and take a peek when the horses arrived at the bank she had just left. She saw there were around six horse riders, wearing nothing but black with a turban on their head and black cloaks covering almost their faces but their harsh eyes -which Sally co **uld** see- were filled with anger, greed and pride. All of them had some sort of a unique deadly weapon with them along with their swords and their horses as black as squid ink had an iron restrainer over their moth and their manes braided with deadly spikes.

'Where did she gah?' said one of them, 'Do ya tink she made it akhross tha rivaar?'.

'No, she couldn't have.' said another, whom Sally guessed was their leader as he had a ruby in the middle of his turban, there was something about his voice that was so familiar but she just couldn't place it. He swung off his horse and walked towards the river and put his hand in the river. 'As i guessed, the current is too strong. She wouldn't have made it pass the river and she couldn't have gone anywhere. Her scent is strongest here but it also ends here, she must've drowned by now. No point looking for her anymore, we'll just tell the king that we killed her and disposed her body along with her possessions' he said as he walked back to his horse and swung back on it.

'Aah, bugger,' said the one from earlier,'I really wanted tah fuck that slut. Tey are best when tey are squirming and resistin' he chuckled.

'Oh for once would you stop letting your dick decide your actions and think with your brain once?', said another Razaraas jokingly. And with that, all but the leader turned their horses and went into jungle while their leader stood there atop his horse looking at the surroundings. Sally held her breath, hoping he wouldn't see her and finally let it out when she heard the horse grunting and the hooves running into the jungle and getting fainter each second.

Sinking down the tree, Sally finally looked at her bundle who was now squirming. She saw the baby's black her was only slightly wet but otherwise he was dry. The baby's green eyes opened and as he saw the woman looking at him, he smiled and started to coo. Seeing this, Sally started to cry for a reason she didn't know but she guessed it was exhaustion from the chase and sadness whether she had a home or not but above all she was was happy that she was safe. She brought the baby closer to her chest as whispered, 'Dont worry, my love. You are safe now my child, Percy Jackson'.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter-1**

 **13 Years Later**

Percy ran through the marketplace as fast as he could, laughing like a maniac. He jumped, ducked and even tripped a couple of times but always regained his form in a matter of seconds and moved forward in the same speed.

'Jackson! Come here and face me like a man, you little mongrel!', said Mr. Geryon. He was the owner of one of the largest meat stores and exporters in the Bontua- ruled by the Chases- and was also Percy's employer.

'Oh yeah? And which of you should I face, you big galoot? Your face, your legs or your huge ass belly?' Percy yelled back, laughing but that remark had set Geryon off and he ran so fast as if someone had kicked him in his rear. It was hard for Percy to admit but for someone as big as Geryon, who looked like he had three chests, was a pretty fast runner but not as fast as Percy. He jumped over a vegetable cart that was in his way with such grace, not toppling over any of the vegetables, did a somersault on the ground when he landed and was up on his feet immediately. He looked back to see Geryon whose size didn't allow him to move around the cart so he had to wait till the vegetable cart moved.

Percy smirked at him and started to make silly faces at him while jogging backwards, just to infuriate Geryon even more. The reason for this cat and mouse chase wasn't because Percy had stolen some money, even though he was poorer compared to the others, his morals were in the right place-his mother had taught him not to steal, not to brag and always help others no matter what they had done to you. The reason was because he had broken couple of ceramic tea cups in an attempt to juggle them just so that he could impress and make one of the younger customers laugh. He knew the child was utterly bored and knew what the child was going through because she was in the same situation as he was and in order to eradicate it, he picked up couple of the cups and started to juggle them and in the attempt the little girl started to laugh. _Mission_ _Accomplished_ , he thought mentally, smiling. Now, it wasn't his fault that Geryon had to yell his name and distract him resulting in him losing his focus and the cups that were once in the air came crashing down to the floor until they become a million tiny little porcelain pieces. 'JACKSON!' yelled Geryon at the site he saw. 'Gotta go', he said to the little girl who was in a fit of giggles at the sight of the situation as he ran out the front door with Geryon right at his heels, chasing Percy.

While Percy was still at his attempt of infuriating Geryon, he bumped into something, rather _someone_. Turning to see his victim, Percy saw a man with crutches and a weird, loose hat over his head as if it were made of wool. As much as he wanted to help the man, he knew the cart must've passed and Geryon was coming to get him. Percy took a few steps ahead, leaving the man behind but he stopped and let out a frustrated grunt, muttering ' _Fuck you, morals_ ' and turned around to help the handicapped man. He had barely managed to help the man stand and place his crutches underneath his arm when Geryon tackled him to the ground. Percy could barely move under the weight he was under and struggled for air.

'You better pay me for those cups, boy' muttered Geryon. Percy spit at the man and just said 'Fuck you'. Geryon got so angry at the comment that he raised his hand to smack him and Percy had turned his head sideways, anticipating the pain when he heard a feminine voice yell 'Percy!'.

Both Geryon and Percy looked up towards the voice that called his name and saw his mother, Sally. She was indeed a sight for sore eyes. Even with a simple dark green dark dress and just a touch of makeup she looked like the first rays of morning sunshine, kissing the earth with its warmth and glow to provide enough of light to remove the darkness everywhere. Sally came bounding towards her son, not bothered about the vegetable bag she was carrying that slipped from her shoulder, spilling a few items the moment it hit the floor. As reached Percy, she cradled her son's head in her lap bending down-by then Geryon had gotten up and was staring at the woman in _lustful_ way. Sally was used to getting such looks from men from the moment she had entered the kingdom and she had to keep on reminding herself how this kingdom was different from the one she came from, where men were forbidden to have affairs and have concubines. If you married a woman, you had to be faithful to her… till death parts you both otherwise the consequences were severe but here in Kingdom Bontua, men even _women_ were allowed to have extramarital affairs and the significant others _knew_ about the affairs. Hell, even the _king_ had a concubine!

'What did he do? Why did you pin him to the ground? He is just a boy!' Sally yelled at Geryon as she looked up with a look so fierce that it removed the lustful expression from the man's face immediately.

'What did he do?! He broke three of my finest tea cups!' yelled Geryon.

'Oh please, you used to water your plants with those cups and you bought them from the local ceramic shop at a discount.' muttered Percy whose head was still on his mother's lap. '

What did you say, boy?' shouted Geryon as he prepared to kick the boy but stopped himself as Sally shot him another murderous look.

'How much did they cost?' asked Sally in a direct and fierce tone. 'Nine silver coins', said the large man as his eyes roamed over her petite figure and the dress she was wearing which seemed to have small holes at the bottom.'If you _don't_ think you can pay', continued Geryon in a lustful manner, 'we can think of _othe_ -'

However, before he could finish his sentence Sally reached up to the belt sash that held her wrap dress together. There was a small pouch tied to it and took out ten silver coins and threw it at Geryon's feet. 'There,' she spat, 'take your damn money and get away from here and don't bother me or my son ever again.' While she said this, Geryon scooped down and took the money-happy that he got an extra coin but sad that he couldn't fuck the bastards mother but to Geryon, money was more important. So, he took the money and turned away, not even bothering to look back and just said 'Don't even bother coming back, Jackson.'

As the large figure retreated, Sally helped Percy up, who felt so guilty that his mother had to give away the money she worked so hard for and started to apologise profusely saying how he would find a job and pay her-which he knew would be impossible as this was the fifth job he had lost in the past two months but all his mother did was smile reassuringly with a small twinkle in her eyes that stopped Percy's blabbering and he just returned her smile. That was the thing about his mother, no matter what he did she would always forgive him and never think of him as a troublemaking, problematic child who needed help. She never gave up on him.

From the moment he was little he had been kicked out of so many schools and by private tutors and they all had given the same reason- _the boy could not sit still in class and could not concentrate on anything being taught in his class._ He just kept on disrupting his class, distracting everyone and annoying the teachers so much that he was standing outside of the classes and being sent to the headmaster more often than staying in class, but Sally didn't give up. She personally taught him everything she knew-which was a lot - from math to science to history and by the time he was 13, Percy knew more than a school graduate.

'Don't worry about the money, Percy' she said. 'It was no loss, _besides_ all of that money belonged to Gabe' she added with a whisper. Gabe was the person Sally has been working for for the past 13 years. At the time, he seemed like a sweet considerate fellow. He had given Sally a job and a place for her and her son to stay but just weeks later, he had shown his true colours ordering Sally around like a wench, slapping her for no reason, drinking like a slob and gambling the entire day. How he still had his house and money was still a mystery to Percy. Even he had received his fair share of Gabe's wrath when he was little, when Gabe had returned home drunk, Percy had called him 'Smelly Gabe' due to the stench surrounding him and _boy_ , did that piss Gabe off. He slapped and kicked Percy until Sally had to intervene and stop him but by then, Gabe was so drunk that he just grunted and passed out on the floor.

When Percy and Sally made their way to the fallen vegetables and vegetable bag and started to pick them up, somebody came up behind them and started to help them by picking up the vegetables. When Percy turned around to thank the person for their kind gesture, he was surprised to see that the person who helped them was none other than the man with crutches who Percy had bumped into.

As Percy opened his mouth to thank him, he was cut of by the handicapped man, who had a very guilty expression, 'No need to thank me, this was a small gesture for helping me there. In fact, I should apologise. If you hadn't helped me, you would've at least saved yourself and the money. So, I'm sorry for bumping into you, I didn't see where I was going and i was in such a hurry. They are selling Reed Pipes down at Marcaca's at half their price and I had to have them because the music they produce is…'

Percy and Sally just stood there dumbfounded as the handicapped man just kept on going on and on and on about Reed Pipes and their music unit he realised that he was just talking about things that they may not get and started to apologise for that also. Percy just laughed and said, 'No worries, man. It's alright. And thanks for helping us with the vegetables. Really appreciate it. I'm Percy, by the way. Percy Jackson.' as he held out his hand.

The man took Percy's hand and shook it. 'I'm Grover Underwood. I live at the edge of the forest on the outskirts of the village.'

'Grover, someday you should drop buy and have a cup of tea with me and Percy. I work and live just down the street, it's that brown house with the flat roof', Sally said 'Just make sure you use the back door to visit us. Our quarters are there and my employer doesn't like unwanted guest coming through the front door' she continued.

'Sure thing, ma'am'

'Oh please, don't call me ma'am. Just Sally.'

'Sally.' Grover repeated, smiling.

They talked for some more time until Grover remembered about the Reed Pipes and went the other way, dashing towards Marcaca's promising the mother and son that he will drop by soon.

It had been a couple of weeks since the incident and Grover had been coming over almost everyday after that. And honestly, Sally couldn't be happier. Grover and Percy had gotten along extremely well since the first day he came over and they have been going out during the day pretty often for the past two weeks. One of the main reason Sally wanted Grover to come over was for Percy as he didn't have any friends and she felt that the two boys would get along pretty well, which turned out to be true. Whenever the boys used to go out and Gabe went out with his cronies to either gamble or entertain themselves at he local whore house or both-Sally usually had some spare time at hand but what was strange was that she didn't spend it like a women normally would like going out shopping or cooking or maybe sleeping itself. No.

Instead, she just took out a box from one of the loose floorboards under the cupboard-a place Percy _thankfully_ hasn't found till now- and just started at it and its contents. The box was nothing special- just a simple wooden box with no carvings or anything but what the contents were mattered more. They were her royal jewels and crown that she either brought along with her or wore as she ran from the Razaraars that fateful night 13 years ago. A night that changed everything. She took out her blue diamond, pearl and gold crown-a crown that was custom designed for her by her beloved. The blue diamond and gold were mandatory for the queen of Atlantis, while the pearls were brought in by Poseidon himself from the ocean and placed into the crown. Sighing, she gazed at the fine craftsmanship as she remembered home, popularly known as the ' _Water_ _Kingdom_ ' as it was located right at the ocean and at times used to get submerged partially if the rains were very harsh but it still survived and did much better than Bontua.

She placed her crown back and looked at the contents of the box again, ignoring the wrenching pain in her heart until her eyes fell on the tiny velvet box that once held her engagement ring given to her by Poseidon. It was fashioned out of the same pearls that Poseidon brought from the ocean that were now in her crown but this pearl was a bit different, instead of a pinkish white like pearl usually were it was a pinkish purple but alas, Sally didn't have it anymore as she had to sell it off at a local pawn shop to get some money for Percy and herself. The little money she got didn't last very long but thankfully didn't have to sell anymore of her jewels as Gabe found her and decided to take her in. Sally knew the reason he took her in was to make her his concubine but after resisting at the first few attempts, he turned extremely cold to both Percy and her but he couldn't throw her out to the road again because she kept the house extremely clean and cooked good meals and as much of a dirty slob he was, Gabe appreciated a clean house and a good home cooked meal.

She still felt guilty of the fact she couldn't tell Percy his true identity and heritage until the time was right and couldn't bare the sight of him slogging his butt out in whatever job he did trying to find his identity but because of a tiny mistake, he paid extreme prices. There hadn't been a day when she did not miss her home and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't go back or find out about the place because she knew that the Razaraas were near by, finding her and if she tried to gain information about Atlantis, they would find and slaughter both of them and if she went back, King Kronos would personally kill Percy. She did not know whether Poseidon was alive or not but she heard rumours in the marketplace about the war that was still going on- how some days were good and some were bad for the Water King but it only gave hope Sally that he was still alive.

After putting the contents back into the box and the box back into the floorboard along with her thoughts and memories, Sally decided to make dinner for Percy and herself and prepared a snack for Gabe as he always felt hungry after gambling and drinking with his friends and enjoying the company of the prostitutes at the brothel. After preparing dinner, Sally realised Percy still wasn't home. Since she didn't have anything to do, she decided to clean her little living quarter. As she moved around the quarter cleaning each room to perfection, Sally took pride in the fact that her mother insisted that she learned how to cook and do household work along with her schoolwork, basic self defence and other activities even though she belonged to a noble family because one never knew what situation he or she is placed under and because of her mother's one tiny decision, she couldn't be any more grateful and thankful, than right now.

When Sally finally reached Percy's bedroom, she was pleasantly surprised to see that that the place was relatively cleaner for a teenage boy but it needed some extra cleaning. As she cleaned the room, Sally saw small trinkets of the times she took Percy to a water body and how he learned to swim on his own, smiling at the memories. She placed the trinkets properly and finally cleaned the room and the only thing left was the bed.

As Sally flipped the mattress and fluffed the pillows, she felt something at the bottom of the pillow. She reached for it and took out a piece of paper and what she read on it was enough to shock her into oblivion.

Percy had had a great time with Grover. Both of them had gone to a little clearing near to where Grover lived and there was this little stream of water that led to this not-so-little pond. Percy was thrilled. It had been so long since he had gone swimming and this was something that he needed. He always loved to swim ever since he was three years old. His mother used to take him to places where there were small water bodies and he just splashed there while she used to stare at the crystal blue water. Percy knew she was remembering his father.

She had once told him the story of how they met when he was 9 years old and had woken up from a nightmare, in order to soothe him down she told him the story. She had gone to the beach after her father had passed away, someone she was extremely close to and the only fond memory she had with her father was that of boating along the sea shore with him; she was walking along the shore, consumed in her own thoughts when she bumped into this huge man and both of them fell on their butts. When they recovered from their fall they looked at each other and something happened, as if there was a click when their eyes met. Sea green on bright blue- _love at first sight_. Time just flew when she was with him and before she knew it they were getting married and 11 months later, Percy was born but she never told him why or where his father had gone because when he did, she started to choke and cry so much and Percy couldn't bear see her crying. For him, his mother was his entire world and to see your world cry angered him so much that he stopped asking her the question and _never_ brought up the topic again. Sure, he was angry at his father for leaving them in the situation they were in-with all the men gazing at his mother in such a lustful way- but he couldn't do _anything_ about it.

After spending time in the pond, swimming and relaxing, Percy and Grover decided it was best if they went back home, mainly because it was getting late. After he dropped Grover off and started his way home, Percy introspected on the fact how close he and Grover had become in just a few weeks. He initially thought they wouldn't be such good friends, acquaintances yes, friends- he doubted it. But after talking to him and sharing each other's problems, Percy realised Grover was a good guy and if possible may be a better friend, plus they had many common interests besides running and swimming, for obvious reasons.

When Percy finally reached the back door that led to the little quarter he shared with his mother and pulled the door open, he was surprised to see his mother sitting on one of the chairs, her lips pursed and a distressed, pale look on her face.

Percy thought that she wasn't feeling too well and rushed to her side and started to feel her pulse and checked her forehead to see if she had fever but she was completely alright. That's when his eyes fell on the paper on the table and when he read it, his eyes opened wide with shock; it was the application form for the kingdom's army force that he had filled three days ago. The only reason he hadn't turned it in was because the minimum age requirement for enrolling in the army was 15 and he was 14 but that was gonna change soon as his birthday was approaching in two weeks and also because he wanted to tell his mother…

 _Well that isn't going to be a problem any longer,_ he thought to himself. 'Mom?' he said, 'how did you fi-'

He was cut off by Sally who looked at him with a painful expression in her eyes. Sally looked at her son's face that reminded her so much of Poseidon. The same jet black hair, sea green eyes and the same jaw. Percy was still a bit of a scrawny kid but she knew as he grew older he would fill into his muscles, gain weight and look exactly like his father.

'Why didn't you tell me Percy?' she said quietly- tears in her eyes, 'I thought I was your _best_ _friend_ , you used to tell me _everything_!' she whispered the last part, almost inaudible.

'I know mom but-'

'But _what_ Percy?!' she yelled, 'Do you have any clue how _dangerous_ it would be? What all you have to go through? You can _die_ , Percy! Did you think about that? Did you think about yourself? Your friends? Grover? Did you think about me? What I may go through if _anything_ happened to you?' Sally slid down from the chair to the ground. Tears streaming down her face, refusing to stop.

'Mom, please don't cry!' he whispered, sliding down to the floor next to her. He took her hand in his own, 'The main reason I considered joining the army was _because_ of you. I don't want you to work for this smelly asshole anymore. He tortures you so much and the way people look at you Is so infuriating! If I join the army, they will guarantee a steady pay for the both of us and as i go higher up in the ranks, they'll even give me a house along with increase in pay. You won't have to work a single day!'

'But what if something happens to you?' she said, her tears still refusing to stop.

'Nothing will happen, mom. I promise.' Percy said as he hugged her tightly. Sally's tears had stopped the moment he hugged her and they just remained there in that loving embrace as she took in the smell of rosewood, smoke and- was that pond water and fish she smelt on him?

'Percy?'

'Hmm?'

'Did you go to the pond today?'

'Uhh.. Maybe?' he said, laughing nervously and breaking away from the embrace.

'And did you bother wiping yourself properly?'

'Mom! I'm not 5 anymore, jeez' Percy said, his cheeks red with embarrassment. He turned to go towards the little bathroom they had to have a bath.

'What do you expect? The army won't allow or even like a smelly slob amongst their forces, now would they?' she said smiling.

'Yeah, yeah' Percy said as he entered the bathroom. It took him a moment to comprehend what his mother said and as soon as he did he opened the bathroom door and ran towards his mother, hugging her tightly.

'Umph' Sally said laughing as he hugged her, thankful that Percy understood what she said.

'So you're okay with it? You're allowing me?' Percy said.

'Okay with it? Not really. But if it's something you want to do and you're confident about it, then who I am to stop you. Just promise me something though, If anything happens to you, you're coming straight back here and we can go somewhere else, start a new life… Okay?'

'I promise, mom' he said making a cross gesture on his heart, smiling and hugged her until his mother scolded him again for stinking too much and threatened not to give him any dinner if he didn't have a bath.

 **A/N: So this was the first chapter and i hope you liked it!**

 **Thank you for the reviews guys, it was really appreciated. There may or may not be some Percabeth fluff in the next chapter, who knows? :3**

 **Keep on reviewing guys! More reviews, faster the updates!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **3 Years Later**

'Michael Yew' yelled Dionysus lazily 'graduating third in their class. Placement- The City Archers'. Micheal marched up to the tiny podium to collect his little diploma and his new uniform of the City Archers. He always wanted to do something in archery because he knew he had a knack for it and was grinning ear to ear when he heard his name and placement.

Percy was pleased for his friend as he stood there. He couldn't move or clap or show any expression, along with the other graduates of their army training batch but Percy could barely hold his his excitement and emotions within himself. He was _finally_ graduating after three long years of intensive training, bad breakfasts, early morning runs and what not but he knew that he had always benefited from them and because of the exercises, he always one of the top scorers in his class- usually on second place and he expected to get the position this time also, probably a placement in either the foot soldiers or the navy. Percy was an excellent swordsman, and an even better swimmer- thanks to his mother and their little trips to the pond when he was younger- and his fast reflexes made him the best and most graceful hand-to-hand combater in class— in fact, everyone in their batch knew and were expecting second position from him.

When he knew that Dionysus was going to announce the graduates name who came in second, Percy mentally prepared himself and analysed the route he was going to take and looked up at Dionysus, determined and ready for his name to be called. Dionysus or Mr. D - something he liked to call himself/ wasn't always the best director, it is rumoured that when he was younger he was a decorated prince of a far off kingdom but due to his uncontrollable parties, boozing and the amount of time he had spent with his fathers concubines, his father striped him of his royal status and literally kicked him out of his castle saying that until he learned his lesson, sobered up and learnt to become his own man he wont be allowed back in the palace. He traveled to so many places and finally ended up here as he was on okay-ish terms with the Queen of Bontua, Athena. She gave him a job as the director of the new army recruits thinking that at least it will give him a sense of responsibility and stop his boozing but unfortunately it didn't. He was always drunk to the core every morning when he came to greet the recruits during their first year. After that he just gave up on the greeting and was always stuck in his office.

'Graduating second in their class' Dionysus yelled in the same lazy tone- _This is it_ , Percy thought mentally- 'Luke Castellen. Placement- The Royal Palace Army.' The moment Luke's name came out of Dionysus' mouth, everyone was shocked. Luke came first in almost every skill and form of training and he was as good a swordsman as Percy, at times even better. When Percy heard Luke's name for second he was happy for him but distraught for himself. If he didn't get second and Luke did, then who came first in their class? So many thought and processes were going through his mind. He studied hard for their final exam, perfecting every skill, learning every piece of theory he was taught again and again and again. He even felt his exam went extremely well. Luke went up to the podium, his expression hard and emotionless- collected his diploma and uniform and returned back to his position with the same expression.

 _Had I failed?_ Percy thought. _It cant be. They would've informed me right? Otherwise why would i be here? Could it be that i came… No! I've never come first how can I come this time?,_ his thoughts continued. 'And graduating first in their class,' Dionysus yelled, with a hint of relief as this was the last name he was announcing, 'Percy Jackson. Placement: The Royal Bodyguards, further training under Chiron.'

Percy stood there, his mind working at a hundred miles an hour but his body refusing to move. Only when Will, who was standing besides Percy, nudged him to move forward did his body give in and he moved. He didn't know how but some way or the other he received his diploma and uniform without tripping and came back to the position he was originally standing at.

'Congratulations to all of you and do well on your jobs, otherwise you yourself will pay the consequences. You will begin your respective jobs on the 1st day of the tenth month, that is, three days from now. Till then do whatever you want, just don't die. Now you may leave, shoo.' _Great Motivational speech Mr. D_ , Percy muttered, still trying to comprehend the fact he came first and of his new position as a royal bodyguard. Usually those who graduated first in their classes got very high ranking jobs with a good pay but to get a placement as a royal bodyguard? They were usually older and more experienced. Why would they want someone so young and inexperienced?

As everybody relaxed from their positions, chatting about their new jobs, they moved out of the little room in which they had their graduation ceremony. Everybody went to do their own thing, most of them going to the local pub to celebrate but Percy went to his room to pack because he wanted to go home and spend the next three days with his mom and his best friend, Grover. Sure he made many new friends here but he was still closest to Grover. He hadn't met his mother for the past six months. The recruits were allowed three weeks of holidays during the festival season every training year and those three weeks Percy spent with his mother or exploring more places in the Forest with Grover. Percy still remembered the farewell he had with his mother and Grover three years ago. Grover was crying his eyes out and eating all the chocolate biscuits Percy's mother had made for him and started to rant on about how he hasn't gotten so close to anyone before and he should've also applied but couldn't because of his current state. After Sally and Percy had calmed Grover down, all of them sat around the kitchen and baked more biscuits until dawn and gave a teary goodbye to Percy full of promises and kisses- from his mother- until he boarded the carriage full of other recruits that would lead them to their new home for the next three years.

As Percy walked back to his room, he felt someone behind him, coming towards him. He took a fighting defensive stance and turned around only to see it was none other than Luke. He was grinning at Percy but Percy was sure he definitely saw a look of distaste flash across his face but it went away immediately. Luke was a tall, blue eyed, handsome sandy blonde and well built man slightly older and more experienced than all of them. He had a nasty scar across the right side of his face that stretched from the corner of his eye to his chin- he never told the reason how he got it and always gave a deathly stare to anyone who asked. While most recruits came at 15 or 16 years of age, Luke came at 17. He told them his father, who was the only sole provider for the family had passed away and his mother was extremely ill to work so Luke decided that he would join the army and provide for her. Luke's father was an excellent swordsman and taught him everything that he knew.

'Percy,' Luke yelled in a cheery manner 'where are you going?'

'To my room,' Percy replied, 'I need to pack. I'm visiting my mom.'

'Oh, you can do that later also, mama's little boy! Besides you should _celebrate_! Finally graduating and coming first in class? Respect, man.' Luke put his arm around Percy's neck and tugged him close and whisper 'Besides, we may get lucky tonight. My treat.'

Percy knew he was talking about taking him to a brothel. Ever since all the recruits turned 17, they had a huge libido that needed to get satisfied, so whatever money they got as sustenance from the army, they took out some extra money out for their ' _Personal entertainment'_ and sent the rest home but Percy never did that. Whatever money he got, he kept some for his own personal amenities like cleaners for his swords, small knick-knacks etc. and sent the rest to his mom.

Ever since he was young, his mother always used to tell him that you fall in love once, marry once and remain faithful to her your whole life. Sally had always detested concubines and made it very clear in their everyday lives this Percy picked up her habit of detesting concubines and brothels and never looked in that direction.

But, unfortunately for him, when he turned 18 his recruit friends had pooled in some money and took him to the best brothel in town and told him to spend the night with one of the girls they had selected. When Percy refused, they literally picked him up and dropped him into the wenches room saying it was an "Initiation ritual to become a man, something everyone should do at or before they are 18".

Even though he didn't want to spend the night with her, he stayed in her room and started to talk to her. Her name was Nancy. She was a redhead with lots of freckles across her nose that actually suited her. She told him that she was a kleptomaniac and because of one of her kleptomaniac episodes, she had stolen a ring from a very high class noble and got caught while doing so. He had kidnapped her and raped her in order to teach her a 'lesson' resulting in her getting pregnant.

When her parents found out, they threw her out of the house claiming that she was _impure_ but due to the stress she was under because of being thrown out, she had a miscarriage which she claimed was good for her as she didn't know and want to raise a baby. Since she had no where to go, she joined the brothel and it had become her home ever since. 'Actually, I don't mind it anymore.' she said. 'The pay is good, the food is much better and more nutritious than I used to get back home plus all my medical expenses are being paid for here, so it's not that bad. And don't worry I'm much happier so don't take pity on me.' she told Percy who gave her a worried look. Even though he regretted it, he did sleep with her but never kissed her and even though he wont admit it, it _did_ satisfy an urge within him but he never slept with anyone ever again and swore never to until he found the one he was going to marry.

'Uhh, no thanks' Percy said to Luke as he came back to reality. 'I haven't met my mom in ages and since no carriages are available today, it'll take some time for me to walk and reach home.'

'Alright, suit yourself.' Luke said as he turned around and went back to the group that was heading to the local pub.

—x—

'Percy!' Sally yelled out the moment she saw her son coming through the door. She leaped out of the chair she was sitting at and hugged him so tightly that Percy had to gasp for breath. When she finally released him, Percy looked at his mom and smiled. She hadn't changed a bit for the past ten years. The only thing that changed were the little wrinkles around her eyes and mouth and some grey streaks in her hair but one had to look at her face properly in order to notice them. He hugged her once again, taking in her familiar motherly scent of biscuits, the ocean and a hint of… was that honeysuckle perfume? Percy didn't know and didn't care but was happy that his mother used the money he sent for her own personal use also.

Percy was about a head taller than her so he could easily rest his chin on his mother's head, when he did so, he looked around their small living quarter. His mother definitely upgraded it since the last time he visited. There was now a tablecloth on the table, better utensils to cook food in and he was definitely sure there would be new quilts in the bedrooms.

When they finally released each other, Sally led her son to their kitchen table and fed him all of his favourite foods. From chocolate biscuits to roasted honey lamb and little potato crisps to his favourite jasmine tea that he absolutely adored. While they were eating, Percy told her everything that happened in the last six months- his training, his exam, his graduation and the position he got.

'What placement did you get?' Sally asked.

'I got the Royal Bodyguards, though i wanted to be a part of the navy. But i guess the Bodyguards are good too.' replied Percy. When he told her this, he thought he saw something flash in her eyes- _fright_ \- but it went a second later and she smiled out of glee.

'That's great, Percy! But why do you guess so?'

'Why I'll be closer to you, mom. I can visit you when i want to considering the palace is right here' Percy said as he pointed to Palace that was illuminated by little fire-lights through the window in their kitchen.

They chatted for some more time until they decided to retire for the night. Percy went to his room and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow while Sally stayed up a bit late to wash the dishes. When she finished doing that she went to Percy's room to check on him. Something she did every night when he was here in order to make sure that he was _actually_ here and she wasn't dreaming. She leaned against his door frame and smiled when she saw that he was fast asleep. She walked to his bedside and kissed his forehead, and caressed his hair. He looked so much like his father. The same hair and green eyes, Percy wasn't the same scrawny kid he was three years ago- he had grown into his muscles and gained a lot of height- he was a man now but to Sally he would always be his little boy.

When Percy told Sally that he was a Royal Bodyguard, as much as she was happy for him, she was scared. He looked so much like his father and being a bodyguard he would always be on public display. If a Razaraas found him, he- along with Sally- would be in a lot of trouble but Sally knew that she couldn't do anything and just prayed to the gods that whatever happens, his baby boy should be safe.

As Sally left his room and went to her own bedroom, she didn't go to her bed but to the loose floorboard in her closet and took out the wooden box. From the wooden box , she took out the velvet box that once held her wedding ring. She placed the wooden box back and sat on her bed, remembering the times she had with Poseidon. Sally lay on her bed holding the box and started to cry because she knew that those times would never come back. She fell asleep still holding the box and her face streaked with dry tears while she dreamt of the beach, a happy couple laughing and swimming along the coast.

—x—

Percy entered the back gate of the Palace as the instruction book had told him to do so. It was the first day of his new job and honestly, Percy was more nervous than he was excited and he felt like he was gonna puke. He had thoughts and images of himself screwing up and being kicked out on his first day.

You're just psyching yourself, he scolded himself, Just be yourself. Yeah be yourself you can do that. You can do that. You will do that! Yeah! but each time he said it, he had to reassure himself more.

According to the instruction manual he got along with his uniform he was supposed to report next to the stables at sharp 7 in the morning but he was there before time, a habit he picked up whilst training.

When he reached the stables, he stood in awe of the magnificent horses. He always thought he had some sort of a connection with horses ever since he was introduced to them during his training sessions, he learnt how to ride them immediately- as if it were an instinct and he was the only one in his class that could actually ride a horse properly while the others could barely climb the animal.

He looked at each horse closely. There were about 7 horses there- three brown, two a mix of brown and white, one a magnificent snow white and the last a deep, dark black. He looked extremely familiar to Percy.

'Blackjack?' Percy said to the black horse.

The horse, recognizing his name and it's speaker and started to run in circles and hit his shins against the door that held him- out of excitement.

'Blackjack! It is you! How are you boy?' Percy yelled as he dropped his stuff and jumped the door to meet the horse. He patted the creature's body and put his head against his nose, feeling his heartbeat and deep breaths as Percy remembered how he met him the first time during his second year of training when they had for a little 'quest'.

' _Okay, you listen to me you bunch of dimwits. We are going on this rescue mission and you better do your best. I know it's your second year of training but you should be able to do it. It's nothing big, only saving a bunch of animals from being illegally trafficked. There would be no bloodshed and no killings. Just scare the captors and rescue. Kind of like learn on the job deal. Am I clear?' yelled Dionysus who for once was sober._

 _'Yes, Mr. D' yelled the group of boys in unison._

' _Good' Dionysus replied, 'now listen. Luke, lead the group and Percy- you're second in command.'_

 _Luke and Percy took their position and rest of the boys stood in line behind them. They were in one of the hiding places outside of the place they were about to raid to free the captured animals._

 _'Okay, men' Luke yelled at the group- he always said men, never boys 'We are going to bust in and capture them, like Mr. D said- no bloodshed until it's needed, capture the men holding them, deposit them in the prison carriage and take the animals with you.' He turned to Percy and nodded his head as if to say, Go ahead and say what you want to._

 _'We have no clue what condition these animals are in, so don't scare them and take them to our training area- they will be treated there and taken care of. Now, swords at the ready and shields up!' Percy yelled._

 _They took formation while Luke and Percy stood in front of the door. Luke put three fingers up and pointed at the door and pointed at Percy and then himself- On the count of three both of us will kick the door open. Percy understood and nodded. Luke put one finger up,One, put the second finger up, Two, Percy got his sword ready and stood in position ready to kick it down. Third finger up, Three, both of them kicked the door open and all the men streamed inside the house._

 _They had the element of surprise and had thrown the men inside completely off. Four men were playing poker while two were busy fucking two wenches each. When the armed recruits came through the door, the two men fucking the wenches were surprised and quickly got up to get a cover for themselves but were too slow as four recruits got to them and arrested them while two men covered the four women and told them to stand and made sure they were okay._

 _However, the four guys playing poker had some weapon close to them. Luke and Percy took a man each while Micheal and James took the remaining two. The ones James and Micheal took were inexperienced and were defeated and put down easily but the ones who were fighting Luke and Percy were more experienced._

 _Percy blocked the sword, jumped up when his opponent swung at his legs but using the hilt of his sword Percy gave a blow on his head and swiped at him causing a scratch on his chest that started to ooze blood. From the corner of his eye, Percy could see Luke fighting his opponent almost similarly. Using his legs, Percy swung at his opponents legs while he was still recovering from the blow to his head that resulted in his opponent falling down. Percy mounted on him and held his sword tip at the mans throat. 'Move and you'll see the insides of the neck, you son of a bitch. Surrender or die.' Percy muttered to him. His opponent was clearly in pain and was scared enough that he put his hands up, surrendering. Percy locked his hands behind his back and looked up to see Luke was still fighting his opponent but he was clutching his side- his hand red. He had been stabbed._

 _Infuriated, Percy got up and started to fight Luke's opponent from behind, helping him. Using the hilt of his sword, he jabbed the opponents side and kicked him in his back, losing his balance but he gained it immediately. He turned around immediately, mad- and started to fight Percy. He jabbed at him but Percy jumped back and delivered a blow at him which he dodged. Percy turned and gave him another blow but he blocked it. Now both of them were locked, sword on sword, each fighting for dominance. Percy but his hand on his sword for extra leverage and did a very dirty trick. He kicked the mans balls. His opponent toppled over clutching his- now sensitive- private part and yelled profanities at Percy, which he ignored and tied the mans hands behind his back._

 _Percy looked over at Luke to make sure he was okay but he was lying down clutching his wounded side, which was now drenched in blood. He ran to Luke's side and looked around for Will- he was the best healer in their recruit group and the best anyone had ever seen. When he spotted him Percy yelled 'Will, man down! Stab at his left side. Hurry!'_

 _Will bounded over and removed the now red cloth from Luke's chest and side and examined it pressing certain areas while just examining the others. Will looked up at Percy and told him not to worry. 'It missed his main organs so it won't do much harm, there is just blood loss that needs to be stopped by a couple of stitches.' Will looked around for two men to help Luke up so that he could stitch the wounded man up. When he did so, he signaled them over and did his job to perfection._

 _Percy decided to leave them alone and looked around to see that most of the animals had been led out and were being taken to the recruits training place so that they could be treated but there was one animal that refused to cooperate with any of the soldiers. It was a magnificent black horse that was so weak and malnourished that his ribs and bones could be seen clearly. Whenever a recruit came close to him he would neigh and go on his hind legs, clearly scared._ He must've been tortured, _Percy thought. He knew he should've let the recruits handle the horse but there was this force in him that pulled him to the beast._

' _Perce, what are you doing? He isn't listening to any of us. He will kick and murder you!' one of the recruits said, maybe Mike but Percy didn't pay attention._

 _'Shhh, I got this' he told the recruits. Percy held his hand up towards the horse trying to calm him down. 'Don't worry, i won't hurt you. It's okay, boy. Relax. You can trust me.' Percy didn't know whether his words had any effect on the beast but it seemed as if it did and the horse seemed to calm down. When Percy put his hand on the horses nose, the beast flinched away for a second but placed his nose against Percy's hand. Percy smiled knowing the horse trusted him and started to pat the beast._

 _'That was amazing, Perce' said a recruit. 'Yeah,' said another 'how did you do that?'_

 _Percy gave a small shrug but paid his attention to the horse and put a looses rope around his neck. 'I'll lead him out and to his treatment area, he seems to trust me.'_

 _It had been a month since the raid and the horse only listened and seemed to understand Percy. He decided to name the beast Blackjack for obvious reasons. Percy used to get up early every morning to train him and take him for a ride and used to spend an extra two hours with him after his training doing the same and brushing his coat. He had been nursed back to health by then and Blackjack turned out to be an extremely strong horse. Percy always swore that whenever Blackjack neighed, he seemed to say 'Yes Boss' but horses can't talk. Whenever Percy rode Blackjack, he was in a different world- free of stress and responsibilities. Blackjack turned out to adapt pretty quickly and even let others ride him. He used to take jumps so high and strong that it seemed like he could fly like a pegasus._

 _When Percy found out that they had to give Blackjack away as the army was short on horses, he was distraught for three days straight. He couldn't eat, sleep or concentrate on his training. He just stay at the stables with Blackjack, either riding or brushing his coat. It took four men- including Luke and Mr. D to convince him that they were doing it for Blackjacks best and promised that someday he will be Percy's horse again. Percy finally gave in and gave Blackjack away to the army after a tearful farewell and so many rides and calming downs._

'Magnificent animal, isn't he' said someone, snapping Percy back to reality. Percy looked up to see a man on top of a horse but due to the angle of the sun hitting his eyes , it seemed to Percy as if the mans torso and the horses body were joined. When Percy blocked the sunlight, the man had dismounted from his horse and walked towards Percy. He had shoulder length brown, curly hair and beard and eyes that seemed so ancient and wise as if it had seen everything.

'You must be Percy' the man said raising his hand for a handshake which Percy shook. 'I'm Chiron, your new trainer to be a bodyguard. You will officially start your job in two months. Till then you'll train with me and learn everything.' He turned towards Blackjack. 'He really is a magnificent horse, isn't he? I heard you were the one who rescued, trained and named him.'

'Yes sir, I was.' Percy stammered.

Chiron smiled at the boys nervousness. 'Don't be nervous, you'll do well on your job. I must say what a remarkable job you have done with him. Blackjack doesn't seem to listen to many people but he works well. He seems to be listening to you.

Chiron turned towards Percy 'As a bodyguard, you are entitled to choose a horse as your own for whenever you go out with the royals. And by the looks of it, you'll definitely choose Blackjack. Am I right?'

'I would like that, sir' said Percy, a bit firmer than the last time he spoke.

'Chiron not sir, please. It makes me feel ancient' Chiron said, chuckling. 'Come along now, i'll show you around the place and where you'll be living for the next two months'

Percy followed Chiron and listened intently. 'As you may know, the gate you came through is the back gate of the palace and those are the stables. The gate is usually used to transport food and vegetables to the kitchen. That is the back kitchen door' he said, pointing to a huge double wooden door. Many people in white and black uniform attire were going in and out and an aroma of freshly baked bread could be smelt.

'Over there, is the training area. It was originally used by the royal family but of late, they haven't been training much- at all actually- so it's now used by bodyguards and palace soldiers to train and exercise.' Chiron said as he pointed to this huge arena like ground. It had weapons of all kinds and armor laid neatly on at least five tables. The training ground was surrounded by huge black stone walls and on one wall there was a huge dark brown oak wooden door. 'Where does that door lead to?' Percy asked Chiron pointing to the door.

'Right now, for you, it is forbidden. The door leads to the main palace and the royal sleeping wings. You to will have a bedroom there, next to your royal. Come along now, i'll show you to your temporary room.'

Chiron said leading Percy to his temporary room. It was next to the kitchen and the smell of freshly baked bread and eggs could be smelt clearly and it smelt _good_.

'You will be provided with your meals in your room, so no need to wander or loiter around. It is forbidden at your training stage.' Chiron stated, firmly. 'Now come, i'll show you the rest of the palace.'

Chiron showed Percy rest of the Royal Palace- from the bathing rooms to the royal bedrooms to the royal courtroom and ball room. When the tour finished it was almost high noon. 'Take the rest of the day off to settle in and you can use the training area if you want to. Just don't go into the royal wings.' Chiron warned Percy as he dropped him back to his room. It was a bit larger than his room back home. It had a single bed which was already made. A small wash basin and a small cupboard for Percy to put his clothes in. There was a window on the east side of the room, above his bed that overlooked the Palace Walls but the sound of the river could be heard and tree peaks of the forest could be seen above the walls. Percy was happy to know the river was so close to his room.

'I'll leave you here,' Chiron said, 'Training starts at the crack of dawn tomorrow, be there.'

'Chiron? You didn't tell me who I would be guarding.'

'Hmm? Oh yes. You will be guarding Her Highness, Annabeth Chase.'

—x—

'You did well, Luke." said a voice from the darkness, 'Better than I had expected. Are you sure that the boy is the one?'

'I'm positive, my lord.' replied the young man kneeling in front of the darkness from where the voice came, 'The resemblance is uncanny and he has the skills of his father.'

'Ahh, good. Finally, we're getting somewhere. You will be rewarded.'

There was a snap of fingers and a door opened where two beautiful women stood, barely covering their _modesty_ and giggling like a bunch of school girls. Luke ignored them but he could feel a certain tightness and urge _down there_ when he saw the women. 'But, my lord, what about our promise?'

'Dont worry about that, young one. When the time is right, I will act upon it. Till then enjoy but dont forget your that your _duties_ start within two days.' said the voice.

'No, my lord. I won't.' Luke replied, standing up. He made his way to the two women and grabbed them both by the waist as he led them to his room, the door shutting behind them automatically, extinguishing the fire lights inside, enveloping the room they just exited from in total darkness.

-x-

 **A/N: Hello Hello! *hides behind laptop***

 **Okay, i know i said there may be Percabeth fluff in this chapter in the previous one but there wasn't… so don't kill me? And sorry for not updating sooner and one more thing… No more updates for another month. I have my exams starting, sooooo i don't wanna be killed by my mother for not studying.*sweats nervously and laughs awkwardly* Till then enjoy! Keep on reviewing and thank you for the positive reviews!**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been two months since Percy had started his bodyguard training with Chiron. Everyday- whether it was hot or cold or raining- he was at the training area with Chiron, pushing his limits to make himself better. They were jousting, running up and down the plateau behind the castle, exercising, fighting one on one and what not every single day and this was just the morning routine! Percy had a break between his morning and afternoon training session for about an hour in which he ate and rode on Blackjack. But the afternoon training sessions were so intense that when training ended, he barely had any energy left to even go back to his room and sleep.

There were certain days though, when Chiron used to teach Percy about Bontua- it's history, culture, allies, enemies and some information of the Princess he was guarding and the King.

'A good bodyguard should know about his royal and the kingdom in which he serves,' Chiron always told Percy when he complained about how him learning about the Kingdom made no sense and he should concentrate more on training.

Today, had been one of those days. Chiron was teaching Percy about the Royal he was going to guard- Annabeth Chase. While reading the small handout Chiron had given him, Percy's eyes had fallen on her birthday and her age. Just like Percy she too was 18 years old- a age usually when Princess' are married off to Kings much older than them or Princes who belong to a very wealthy and progressive kingdom. 'Why isn't she married?' Percy blurted out without thinking as he continued reading the handout and felt like kicking himself for asking such a question but to his own astonishment, Chiron wasn't mad- he just smiled and chuckled. He was shaking his head as if he had just seen a baby hit himself with a toy and started to cry because of the pain.

'It really isn't my place to tell you, but I guess you should know about her. She just wants to finish her education- she told her father a long time ago that until she finishes her education, she won't get married,' Chiron told Percy.

'Her education? But don't Princes and Princesses fin-' Percy began. 'Finish their education early?' Chiron finished Percy's question, to which Percy nodded.

'Im not sure you've heard of it but the eldest Prince and Princess suffer from dyslexia. They have problem in reading and writing words. Though the Prince suffers from a milder case, Princess Annabeth's is more extreme. While Malcolm- The Crown Prince- usually spent two hours to understand something, Annabeth took four. But she was determined and made sure she learnt it but... it did take time, hence the slow education.' Chiron told his green eyed student.

Percy knew what dyslexia was, he himself had the problem and dyslexia was also one of the main reasons- along with his restlessness- why he got kicked out of so many schools.

'But remember, Percy,' Chiron said firmly, grabbing his attention back, 'Annabeth and Malcolm are one of the most intelligent, smartest and passionate children I've ever met, so never think of them as stupid or dumb. They can outsmart you in any way and they will when they have the opportunity.'

Percy could do nothing but look shocked and nod. That's when he realised that Chiron didn't address the Prince and Princess like people of his status and position should but used their first names… Chiron must be very close to them, Percy taught mentally.

'Okay now back to work,' Chiron said, 'Tell me Percy… '

—x—

Chiron had finished their theory class early that day as he was summoned by the King and he told Percy to go back to his room where his dinner would await him. Following his teachers orders, Percy went back to his room but he wasn't feeling very exhausted so he decided to go swimming in the river that snaked behind the castle. He had done this a couple of times before and took out some money from his drawers to bribe the stationed guards at the back gate of the castle to let him out of the fortified area. They were very strict about the rules here in the palace but rules could always be bent with the help of a bribe.

Percy always smirked at the fact how people would do anything for just a little bit of money, especially here at the palace. Either people were really greedy or the greedy king didn't pay them enough. In most of the cases, it was the latter.

From his drawer- along with the money- he took out his swimming trunks. It was dark blue in color falling just short of his knees. It had an intricate light blue wave-like pattern just above the border. The swimwear was the most expensive thing Percy ever splurged on in his entire life. He bought it while he was still a recruit from the recruit village for 10 gold coins.

Percy quickly changed into his swim trunks and wore a plain white tunic to cover his torso and made his way to the back gate, hiding in the shadows as he wasn't allowed out of his room after training. When the coast was clear, he quickly made his way to the gate and bribed the guards standing there to let him out.

'Be back here by sunset, Jackson,' a guard sneered, 'Shift changes then and I don't think the night guards will let you inside and we don't want to get into any fucking trouble.'

Percy promised the guards he would be back by then as he was let out of the gate. The river bank was just a 125 yards away from the gate but the current was too strong so he decided to go to a place he liked to call 'The Boulder'. It was a collection of large rocks, some flat while some were rough and steep, but they were positioned in such a manner that it looked like a huge boulder, hence the name.

As he made his way there, Percy remembered all the information Chiron had given him about Annabeth. He thought it was weird that he still hadn't seen the Royal he had to protect in the months he had been training, but then again, he wasn't allowed to wander off anywhere in the castle. The only Royals he had met was the Crown Prince- Malcolm Chase- and the King. They had come to see who was finally going to protect the Princess and whether he was worthy enough for the position. To test him, Malcolm decided to fight Percy himself. He was a well built, blonde but looked a bit scrawny compared to Percy. He had a look about him that Percy would describe as 'bookish' but once he got down to fighting, even Percy admitted he was extremely good but Percy was better than him by a long, long, long shot- thanks to the additional training he got from Chiron.

Percy remembered that day- the fight between the Crown Prince and himself…

 _Both the warriors got inside the temporary fighting circle made by Chiron and took up a fighting position and circled each other. Each of them staring at each other dead in the eye, taunting each other, daring each other to make the first move, analysis their opponent tweak points._

 _Percy started the fight by kicking Malcolm in his chest to stop his breathing followed by a few swift moves and a swipe under the Crown Prince's legs resulted in Malcolm landing on the ground but he got up quickly and took up a fighting stance and attacked Percy. Malcolm caught hold of Percy's hand and brought to his front and pushed his hand on Percy's face in such a way that Percy was facing the other way and quickly jammed his elbow in Percy's neck. Percy got free after the blow to his neck and started to rub it but Malcolm didn't wait and punched Percy right in his face, hard- hard enough that the abused area swelled up for three days straight- causing him to fall on his back. Malcolm turned around and walked forward in victory._

 _But the punch pissed Percy off. Ignoring the pain in his neck and the fact he started to loose a bit of his vision in his left eye, he got up and using the palms of both of his hands, Percy hit Malcolm- his back still facing Percy- in his ear, hard enough to cause a ringing sensation in them. While Malcolm was recovering from it, Percy kicked him in the shins causing Malcolm to double over. When he was still on his knees, Percy pulled Malcolm's blonde hair- Percy's mouth near his ear and whispered, 'First rule of fighting, never- ever turn your back on your enemy until you're sure he is dead' and with that, Percy released Malcolm's hair and pushed him to the ground such that he was lying flat on his belly._

 _Malcolm looked up to his father- who had seen the whole combat- in the hope of seeing some emotion of encouragement but the only thing he saw was sheer and utter disappointment along with shame. So much shame that King had to turn his head away._

 _This hurt Malcolm a lot. He knew he should get up and fight but he didn't have any energy in him nor did he have the motivation. He accepted the hand Percy offered him to get up and congratulated him on the win and told him he was happy that he was protecting the Princess. Malcolm was never the type of person who held a grudge against a person who outshone him but strived harder to be better- unlike his sister who held a huge grudge and was very competitive._

Percy finally got back to reality when he almost crashed into the boulder, face first. Stopping himself just in time, he took a few steps back to admire the magnificent structure created by nature herself like he always did whenever he was there. The rocks spanned over river to the other side of the bank, acting like a natural bridge to the forest on the other side.

Percy climbed, jumped and almost slipped over the rocks but he finally reached a relatively flat rock almost halfway through the river. He settled himself on the edge of the rock with his feet dangling over. Percy's feet were close enough to the river for some water droplets to splash on his feet. He took off his tunic and put if of his feet on the rock, the other still dangling and placed his head on his knee while gazing at the water.

The water always fascinated him.

The way it caught the light and reflected it to form new colors and patterns. The way it swooped around the rocks, eroding it slowly… slowly… slowly. The liquid looked like a glossed piece of precious art by the way it caught the purple, pinks and oranges of the sunset sky and it calmed Percy down so much. He could stare at it for hours on end.

 _But that would be impossible_ , the raven haired boy thought mentally, chuckling at his thoughts.

'Well, the sun won't set anytime later,' Percy said out loud to no one in particular, 'better jump into the water.' He said as he stood up and took a diving position.

He closed his eyes and exhaling deeply, calming his nerves and jumped from the second he opened his eyes- determined, inhaling on the way down. He broke the surface of the water by pushing his arms out and came up to take in a gulp of air as he enjoyed the coolness of his favourite element. He was never affected by the temperature of the water. He could easily swim in ice cold to extremely hot water without getting affected majorly.

Taking in another gulp of air, Percy followed the slow current and swam forward and back to the rocks, from one bank to the other side, dove off the rock again to repeat the same process and even climbed one if the steeper rocks and dove off of that. Enjoying the water as he floated on it taking in the silence while relaxing his sore muscles, he thought of the time he asked Chiron why didn't they take someone more experienced and older to be a bodyguard.

 _Princess Annabeth… is a_ different _and complicated case_ , Chiron told him, _her_ activities _are extremely different from those of the other members of her family because of which she needs to go out of the castle more often but usually in incognito. That's why we needed someone younger and closer to her age to protect her and be with her always in order to not raise any suspicions when she goes out to pursue her activities, to keep up with her and to keep her safe. The King has formed some enemies over the past few years and they won't mind attacking a girl, no matter what her status is. And since you were apart of the most recent graduate class and had amazing credentials, both- The King and I- chose you._

Since then, Percy wondered what kind of activities the princess was involved in that involved in her going out in such secrecy.

Looking up, Percy realised that the sun was about to set and decided to go back to the castle in order to avoid facing the night guards. He retrieved his tunic from the rock and made his way back to the bank when he heard a sound, coming from the forest. He turned back to see where the source of the sound was and what made it but didn't hear anything. I must've imagined it, he thought to himself.

 _Ugh_.

It was the same sound and it was much louder and clearer this time. Along with the sound that sounded similar to a grunt, a sound of metal on metal followed.

Curious and forgetting about his deadline, Percy followed the sound, entering the forest that was getting darker by the minute because of the setting sun. He walked straight when he entered the forest and took a right turn, following the sound that was becoming clearer and louder with every step he took. He suddenly saw a clearing, roughly the size of his training area in the palace. The only thing odd about it were the wooden figures that stood in the middle of the clearing. One had a dual edged sword for its right hand, another was fully covered in armour while the third had a sword for each of its hand but something seemed off to Percy…

The sound he heard before had stopped.

Percy took a step forward to enter the clearing when suddenly a blur of grey came soaring down from one of the trees towards Percy's left and somersaulted on the ground upon contact so fast that the young bodyguard could barely see what the figure looked like besides the fact it had a hood covering its hair.

It ran from where the summersault ended with such speed and grace that even astounded Percy. He stood there dumbstruck, staring at the future as it flipped over one of the wooden warriors with such ease as if it were dancing. It took out out a knife the belt that was around its waist and a sword from the scabbard at its back and attacked the wooden figure that had swords for both of his hands.

The wooden figures were unusual because the moment one was struck, it started to rotate on its base, with different pieces of wood sticking out of it randomly that the grey attacker dodged. Attacking one triggered the other two to follow suit.

All three of them started to rotate on its base and out of each the huge piece of wood popped out either rotating or going up and down or both with incredible speed but the warrior had no problem. It dodged each of the attacks, whether it was by sword or by the wood easily by ducking or jumping or stepping sideways at the exact moment. This kept on happening until the warrior disarmed all three figures and stabbed them in the chest, stopping the rotation and the movement of the wood. The warrior turned slightly to where Percy was standing giving a better look of what it looked like but had to clamp his mouth shut to avoid a gasp from escaping his lips.

The warrior was a _woman_! The female fighters hood was attached to a long cloak with many intricate patterns and clasped shut in the front using something silver. The hood covered almost all of her hair but few rebellious curly blonde locks escaped from it. She had a veil covering the lower half of her face- exposing only its eyes but because of the distance between them, Percy couldn't figure out the colour. The female fighter had adorned a light grey corset-like chest armour that seemed to move and stretch and turn in the same way she did but from the distance Percy could still figure out it was real authentic armour. Moving his vision slightly above, Percy saw how her chest armour seemed to accentuate her perfectly firm and rounded breasts and as his vision lingered there slightly longer, something seemed to happen to him _down_ _south_.

Moving his gaze, Percy saw how she wore nothing on her arms besides some criss-crossed bands and had huge shoulder protection pads. She had worn these steel gloves that behaved similarly to her chest armour- moving with ease just like her hand. The female warrior worn there dark grey- almost black- pants and had things high grey hunting boots that seemed to be worn out . Over her right thigh, just above the boot, Percy saw she had a black sash tied around it with something drawn on it but Percy couldn't see it properly. There was a gap formed between her pants and chest armor that showed her tanned, toned, flat stomach but it was mostly covered by a black leather belt.

But wait, a female warrior with grey clothing and a belt around her waist fighting ruthlessly? Percy knew who the lady was but always thought she was a legend. And now? Percy couldn't believe his eyes that she was in front of him, in flesh and blood.

It was the Grey Spirit.

He first heard about the Grey Spirit when he was a young boy visiting the market with his mother. The locals were whispering to each other about how a grey woman, clad in grey had stopped three men from raping an innocent 15 year old the previous night and how she had beaten them to pulp when they mocked and attacked her until they begged for mercy. Percy continued to hear stories of the grey woman and her deeds and soon came to be known as the Grey Spirit. Protecting women from any danger and stopping any form of crime happening. When she was around, the crime rate had dropped to the lowest it had ever been in the history of Bontua. Criminals feared her while women worshipped her but all of a sudden she disappeared and the crimes rose again.

Women were raped, merchants and noblemen looted but there was no one there to protect them until two years ago when a nobleman's house was being looted and his daughters were tied up, about to get raped- the Grey Spirit swooped upon them as if a guardian angel had descended upon them to protect them. She beat and injured the criminals to the point they surrendered. With her coming, the stories rose again, she was feared by the criminals, worshipped by the women and the crime rates dropped but not as low as last time- crimes still continued and happened each day… Some of which she could never reach to on time to prevent and had to just comfort and help the victims.

Unconsciously, Percy took a step forward but stepped on a twig, snapping it. The sound was loud enough for the figure to turn and look at where the source was from and spotted Percy. The young bodyguard looked down at the snapped twig beneath his feet and mentally cursed himself for doing something so stupid. Looking up Percy saw the figure running towards him and instinctively took up a defensive stance but the figure just flipped over him and landed behind him as soon as she was five feet away from him. Looking back once, she ran forward from where Percy had come from with immense speed. Not understanding why the figure just ran away without attacking him, Percy ran after her with the same speed she had.

'Hey!' Percy yelled as he narrowly missed falling over a huge tree root, 'Hey! Stop! I won't hurt you!'

But she moved forward faster. Pushing himself even more to run faster, Percy could feel his lungs burning because of the lack of oxygen and his legs screaming for rest but Percy ignored them and pushed himself to run faster.

'I know you're the Grey Spirit!' Percy yelled but the female warrior do anything besides run. She took a sharp left turn and disappeared all of a sudden. Percy followed her and burst onto the river bank- the boulder right in front of him. He looked around to see if the Grey spirit was anywhere around but he couldn't see properly as it was dark.

Realising the sun had already set and the moon along with the stars could be seen shining like little diamonds in the night sky.

'Shit! Im late!' Percy cursed at himself for getting distracted easily and not noticing the setting sun. Putting the Grey Spirit momentarily at the back of his mind, Percy ran over the boulder and towards the Palace gate, praying to the gods that the guard duty had not changed or someone would recognise him.

 **A/N: Hey guys! Guess whose back! Sorry for the delay, I had my exams and was going through a writers block :3 I apologise for this short chapter but I promise the next one would be longer and** _ **someone**_ **may be introduced. Till then, tell me your views on the chapter and you'll get your next chapter next week! Don't forget to review!**


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